These are the remnants of the past
The ones that stuck with us
The skeletons that remained after everything

The ones for which we took our weapons, trudged wearily and battled against
The ones that remained, targeting our minds and emotions
These are the ones that fed off our confidence
The ones that fed off our self image
The ones that made our adequacies inadequate

The remnants of the past…
That left us a long time or so we thought
Till they returned unannounced one night, choking us in our sleep
Till they arrived one day, reminding us of our fears
Fears we wished over and over to get rid off
Fears we thought we left behind in the past resurfaced
Forcing us to relive the horrendous history

These are the ones that stole our voices and stole our breath causing us to gasp for air
The ones that caused us to remain locked behind bars
Confined in our own minds and thoughts

The remnants of the past…
The ones for which we sacrificed the greater good in exchange for the trivial
The ones for which we chose to remain shrouded
The ones for which we refused to let the sun’s rays through; we refused to see the day
The ones that made it difficult for us to reach out and be reached

The ones that stole our joy and inner peace
The ones for which we lived other lives, pretending to be who we weren’t and living as people we couldn’t recognise

The remnants of the past…
The ones for which we compounded our doubts into a poisonous mixture
Killing slowly and softly, we didn’t even realize it
We were dulled; our shine was stolen
It was a yoke on us, a heavy conscience of guilt hovering around us

Here they come again
The fears that messed with us, seized us and immobilized us
The insecurities that were never there yet seem to be there when we had to take a step
These remnants thought for us!!!
And here they come again

This time, I choose to live
I choose to learn and grow
This time, I take that step that has always been due